Ahead of the third anniversary of the October 7 massacre, dozens of victims and survivors have begun publishing on social media their personal messages from the morning of the massacre - messages that have become a record of the harrowing moments they and their families endured.
The third anniversary of the massacre will be marked this week. Participants are publishing messages and conversations from that morning while calling on the public to go back through their phones and conversations saved from that day and share them as well.
“We call on each and every one of you, even if you were not directly harmed in the massacre, to go back through your messages from that cursed day," the public appeal stated. “Please post your own messages from October 7 as well. We are all October 7; we are all victims of the failure, directly or indirectly."
Among those participating is Shir Matias, the daughter of Shahar and Shlomi, who were murdered at Kibbutz Holit. Matias published the conversation from her family WhatsApp group that morning. Amid the horrific events, she wrote three words to her family: “Mom and Dad are dead."
Viki Cohen, the mother of captivity survivor Nimrod Cohen, also published messages from that day. After receiving photographs and videos of her son’s abduction, she said she attempted to contact every possible IDF official in an effort to get answers. One of the messages she shared read: “Why isn’t anyone getting back to us?"
Eyal Eshel, the father of fallen IDF observer Roni Eshel, shared his final correspondence with his daughter. In a message Roni sent to her mother that morning, she tried to reassure her: “Mom, I’m okay, don’t worry about me. I love you too."
Einav Zangauker, the mother of captivity survivor Matan, also returned to her final correspondence with her son before he was abducted to Gaza. Matan’s messages to his family documented what was happening around him in those moments: “They’re speaking Arabic, they’re right outside the door. There’s screaming everywhere here. I love you. Don’t cry."
Noam Peri, the daughter of the late Haim Peri, who was abducted and murdered in captivity, also joined the initiative. She shared a message written by her mother, Osnat, after Haim was abducted from their home: “Terrorists broke into our home and took Haim with them."
